Current Position:

Undergraduate Institution and Major/Degree:

Major Advisor(s):

Research Description:

When glial cells are stimulated artificially, they will often initiate a wave of intracellular Ca2+ elevation that spreads to neighboring glia. These calcium waves can modulate synaptic transmission and blood vessel diameter.

We have discovered that glial calcium waves occur spontaneously in the retina, both ex vivo and in vivo. They propagate from cell to cell through ATP release, and they cause constrictions in blood vessels. Spontaneous waves occur more frequently in older animals.

The existence of spontaneous waves validates glial calcium waves as a physiological form of long-range glial communication, and it also implies that glia can be "initiators" of signaling in the brain.